Water Chestnuts Nutrition

Water chestnut, the most frequently consumed vegetable in China, is available in various parts of the world. This write-up elaborates more on the nutritional profile of this vegetable.

Water chestnut is a vegetable that is commonly found in a Chinese household. Although these are seasonal vegetables and are harvested at very few places in the United States, canned water chestnuts can be purchased throughout the year in South East Asia and is an integral part of Asian cooking.

Water Chestnuts Nutrition

The exact amount of nutrients in every serving of water chestnut (62 g) is given next:

Minerals

Although the vegetable contains a number of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus, the content of potassium is found to be highest. A serving of water chestnut, which is equivalent to half a cup, contains 362 mg of potassium.

On the other hand, phosphorus and magnesium content are found to 39.1 mg and 13.6 mg respectively. As compared to other vegetables, calcium in a serving of water chestnut is low (6.8 mg). Although, it also contains minerals like zinc, copper and manganese, the amount is negligible.

Protein

Protein is also not present in substantial amounts in this vegetable. This is because protein amount is found to be only 0.9 mg per serving.

Vitamins

Vitamins are found in meager amounts in this vegetable. Half a cup of water chestnut has only 2.5 mg of vitamin C. B vitamins like thiamine, vitamin B6, niacin, and riboflavin only make 1 mg of the total 62 g serving. However, the amount of choline, a B complex vitamin, is significantly high and is around 22.4 mg per serving.

Fats

Believe it or not, but saturated fat in this vegetable is nil. Now, that's a good news for those who want to lose weight and include a non-fatty healthy food in their diet. Well, are you one of those, thinking that the vegetable is lacking in healthy fats.

However, a detailed analysis proves that this vegetable has omega-3 essential fatty acids and omega-6 essential fatty acids. These are unsaturated fats that provide innumerable cardiovascular health benefits and can even prevent dreadful diseases like cancer.

Carbohydrates

The amount of carbohydrates in this vegetable are found to be high. Total carbohydrate content per serving (62 g) is 15 g. Fiber count in half cup of water chest is 1.9 g. Being high in carbohydrates, the vegetable is definitely excluded from a low-carb diet.

How Many Calories are in Water Chestnuts

This is one question that is frequently asked by health freaks, especially vegetarians. Now, as the vegetable is free from unhealthy fats, its calorie count per serving will naturally be low. That is why, half a cup of water chestnut contains only 60.1 calories.